To the south, on the storm’s dry side in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, strong winds collected sand and dust from the desert, forming monstrous dust storms. The Kuwait Times said the dust caused visibility “to drop drastically.”

The chaotic weather was unleashed when the disturbance, loaded with cold air at high altitudes and able to draw moisture off the Mediterranean, moved over the hot, dry desert. The atmosphere turned extremely unstable because of the colliding air masses.

GFS model simulation of weather disturbance that has resulted in extreme weather in the Middle East. (TropicalTidBits.com)